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Marquez released by Barcelona

Rafael Marquez 1 (Getty Images)

Thierry Henry might not be the only former Barcelona player on the New York Red Bulls this season.

Rafael Marquez was released by Barcelona on Saturday, a move that could pave the way for Marquez to join Major League Soccer and the New York Red Bulls as a Designated Player.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber told SI.com earlier this week that the Red Bulls had been in deep discussions with the Mexico national team captain, and that he was very hopeful of the move being completed.

If the 31-year-old Marquez does sign with the Red Bulls, he would join Henry and Juan Pablo Angel as the team's designated players. Marquez would fill the Red Bulls' third and final DP slot.

Excited at the thought of Marquez joining MLS and Red Bulls? Think he is worth a DP spot? How do you see him faring with the Red Bulls should he sign? Will New York be the favorites if Marquez joins?

Share your thoughts below?

Comments

  1. LOL… wow.. Yes you are wrong… Marquez and Henry are the 2 best signings in the history of MLS… If you dont know the loyalty of mexican fans, then let me tell you every game will be sold out just because he is the Mexico captain. He is 31 and will be unstoppable .

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  2. I totally agree! But now that Marquez is coming I’m an ex-NYBR follower.

    Hopefully someone will ram their head into his fat face…no one can say he doesn’t deserve it!

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  3. Ignorance at it’s best!!! In seven years with Barca, Marquez only got 5 red cards. All over Europe, he is considered a class act. Much to learn this young Padawan needs!!!

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  4. Let’s be honest here. Regardless of his ability to perform, help the team win, fill the seats, etc., the majority of NYRB fans don’t want a stadium full of green shirts.

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  5. You guys just love to hate Rafa. Two incidents and he is the dirtiest player. I have seen worst tackles in other players ( including Americans). Rafa is a tiny player that isn’t even physical.

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  6. Name them.

    Rafa is considered a class act throughout Europe. He certainly is prone to losing his cool now and then but other than Coby Jones and Tim Howard incidents, can you recall any other?

    This same kind of hype is why Freddy Adu can’t even latch on to a Swiss team now.

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  7. Good player. Good signing. Ups the quality of play of the league.

    Hard tackler? Well, that’s even better! We could use one of those.

    If he makes my team better, I don’t care if he strangled his mother, much less if he caused a boo-boo to some Galaxy player many years ago! :-p

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  8. You guys used to criticise BB for not being decisive enough with his subs now you criticise for being too decisive.

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  9. barcas in dept. with his injury problems and their depth in the back letting him go for a fraction of his contract is a move with value in its own

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  10. onstads been awesome for houston but i’d like to see him with vancouver next year. maybe houston will leave him unprotected in nxt years expansion draft. tally hall is ready to start

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  11. boooo rafa for a frustrated foul play tackle. like i haven’t seen incidents equally as bad as the ones he’s pulled in usa/mexico games

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  12. how the hell could anyone try to assemble a team around bricks like blanco and mcbride.

    their team was always doomed. the fire could only be assembled around one or the other

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  13. and we all know his pedigree, but nothing ignorant about the comments; Marquez earned them

    they actually reveal that US fans know very well who the enemy is, and why

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  14. didn’t garber say recently that teams CAN pay transfer fees? Could it be possible it’s just being kept under wraps? Rafa had been ther for 7 years and had some injury problems. No surprise they let him go, and with Henry, he could have just not accept a transfer anywhere and they’d be stuck paying his bloated salary while the iguain and bojan’s of the team keep playing and scoring

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  15. If he keeps up his play from the world cup, this will be a fantastic signing. He brings versatility, creativity and makes excellent long passes. I don’t see how he wouldn’t be worth the third DP spot.

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  16. ya he is worth it, still a great player. I don’t think that NY needs much help at CB tho they must be lining him up to play a defensive mid spot. we will wait to see how he impacts the team before saying if they are the favorite to win the cup

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  17. no way hes washed up….. edwin van der sar is older and way better. im not saying to sign edxwin but theres a comparison

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  18. If he comes to play he could be ok.

    On a different, but similar note: What is happening with Beckham? Will he play for LA again? Is he still getting paid exuberant amounts of money while he is injured?

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  19. YES he is worth DP money, and YES he will make a huge impact. I can’t believe some of the comments… he played for BARCELONA for 7 years, winning 12 titles including 2 champions leagues. After Hugo Sanchez, he is the most accomplished player EVER to come out of CONCACAF. Comments like those above are the reason the world sees Americans as ignorant soccer fans… oh and I’m not Mexican or a Barca fan!!!

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  20. Great signing for us, I’d take him at CB but Backe seems to want someone who will play at the back end of a diamond, and I guess he prefers Rafa to Tchani.

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  21. go marquez. first blanco took over the league and now it will be you and thierry bringing a new level of play to the mls.

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  22. The article was not by Wahl , it was some guy named Ben Lyttleton.

    The I-know-more-than-BB-crowd who believe that everything wrong was Bradley’s fault and everything right was either an accident or done by the players will blame BB for not posting an armed guard on Charlie that night to stop him from breaking curfew.

    They will blame his current lack of form on the depression BB put Charlie into by not selecting him for the World Cup.

    Just ask Aubie4prez.

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  23. not an encouraging article from Grant Wahl on Charlie Davies and Sochaux. It also makes it CRYSTL CLEAR why bob made the right choice.

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  24. It’s amazing how the Red Bulls got me to actually throw some good will their way by signing Henry and then threw it all away with this. At least this gives me someone to hate in the league more than Dema Kovalenko. At least MLS is continuing its tradition of brining the most hated Mexican players to the league (Hernandez, Blanco, Marquez). Maybe they can get Javier Aguerre to come and coach as well. Bastards.

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  25. i hope he breaks his leg and his career ends right there. marquez is basically mexican joey barton, he will be scum of the league.

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  26. “Will New York be the favorites if Marquez joins?”

    If RedBulls can play like they did in the first two friendlies with Henry, then they should be favorites even without Marquez.

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  27. You’ve got to go thru Columbus if you want to win it all. We all know what happened the last time Rafa was in Columbus Crew Stadium. 2-0 and a red card. Expect a repeat performance in the Eastern Conference final.

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  28. It will help the red bulls for sure, but I dont’ think it’s a great signing. I’m not sure where he’s going to play, and if he can really have a DP type impact on the team/games. Hopefully I’m wrong but I’m not overly excited

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